Open Mind: Cooperative teamwork is the key to impact

Sep. 23, 2019, 12:38 PM

The aim of “Open Mind,” a biweekly column from Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente, is to provide perspective on Vanderbilt’s values, opportunities, challenges and priorities that drive the university’s mission, with the goal of being one of many forums for supporting dialogue and engagement.

In different venues over the past weeks, I have shared three guiding principles that underlie my priorities as interim chancellor and provost: trust, transparency and teamwork. With our extensive and complex university community, each of these principles needs to be continually reinforced, continually top of mind. Doing so will let us build on our strong foundation and propel us to new heights. Here, I want to breakdown the “teamwork” principle and how we further foster collaboration and cooperation broadly to make progress.

Part of our secret sauce is our One Vanderbilt commitment, reaching across disciplines, schools and departments to collectively support one another and share our expertise. Collaboration is critical to accomplishing many things at a university—whether it’s a committee report, a musical performance or the construction of a new building. But I think what distinguishes Vanderbilt even further is that we also value collegiality and being cooperative. We truly value what others bring to the table for work on common goals—whether to make a discovery, to improve our students’ achievability, or to compete at the highest level.

I encourage everyone—Vanderbilt’s faculty, staff, students and postdoctoral fellows—to elevate even more this spirit of cooperative teamwork. Consider not only how you can contribute to what others are doing, but also how you can open up your work to fresh perspectives and new approaches. Time and again, we have seen how collaborating and cooperating in unexpected ways and working across disciplines or areas can have an impact we would never have imagined on our own.

Further, the campus community is also openly invited to give input on a new long-range Athletics strategic plan, and consider how to continue ensuring success in supporting our student-athletes’ achievements on and off the field. Indeed, our student-athletes and coaches embody the principles of teamwork in a high-profile “Vanderbilt Way.” This call for input is an important opportunity for partnership across all parts of our campus, and I hope many will participate.

When we work together—cooperatively, openly and persistently—we are not just thinking boldly or outside of the box, but bolstering our potential to achieve excellence in education and research as well. I’ve always felt that being part of this remarkable university community is a tremendous privilege. With that privilege comes the responsibility to contribute our time and talent to advance not only our individual successes but also our collective successes for the greater good of Vanderbilt and society as a whole. Together, let’s continue to seek out new opportunities to collaborate, to cooperate—to work as a team to have impact.